1. Field of the Invention
A portable medical equipment organizer for use by paramedical personnel in a medical emergency to expedite deployment of necessary diagnostic medical equipment, and specifically to a medical equipment organizer that has a plurality of different diagnostic and medical wires and tubes that are mounted in a single package that can be expeditiously deployed during an emergency without entangling all the wires and tubes together.
2. Description of Related Art
Medical and paramedical personnel that are deployed in rescue vehicles and ambulances require the use of medical diagnostic and treatment equipment at the scene of an emergency in situations where seconds can mean life or death. The time required to retrieve medical equipment, deploy the equipment and treat the patient is critical. Typically, at a medical emergency scene, rescue and paramedical personnel utilize intravenous tubes in order to supply drugs or nutrients to an injured person, oxygen tubes to provide oxygen to the patient, and diagnostic equipment such as an EKG device which requires the deployment of electrodes on to the patient""s body. As can be readily understood in an emergency situation, trying to deploy EKG electrodes while administering oxygen through a tube and deploying I.V. through a separate tube can be time consuming, requiring sorting of the various tubes and electrodes resulting in loss of time. The EKG equipment alone has a number of separate wires that are deployed to different parts of the patient""s body with electrodes anchored at the end. The intravenous I.V. catheter requires a long, narrow plastic tube and a needle that must be placed in the skin of the patient. Finally the oxygen tube has a cannula or face mask that is typically mounted in the nose or mouth to provide oxygen the patient.
Time can be wasted sorting out various equipment elements and deploying the elements on the patient""s body. Because these systems such as EKG, defibrillator oxygen and I.V. are separate systems, typically, each system is stored alone and deployed individually.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,833 issued Dec. 30, 1980, describes a paramedic kit which is basically like a storage box with individually articles used by a paramedic that can be retrieved. U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,762 issued Oct. 30, 1984, shows a prepackaged fluid processing system that may include plasma and other fluids to be administered in a suitcase like environment. U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,866 issued Apr. 30, 1985, shows a medical emergency pack that is much like a backpack that contains first aid supplies. U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,550 issued Oct. 2, 1979, shows an emergency medical kit that has a plurality of pockets and straps for storing medical equipment.
None of the references above show a portable medical organizer for diagnostic and treatment type system which the user can readily deploy intravenous tubes, oxygen and EKG and electrodes and defibrillator wires from a single-portable unit that maintains and separates each of the wires and tubes in an organized manner for fast and methodical deployment.
A portable medical equipment organizer which includes intravenous tubes and applicator, oxygen supply tubes and oxygen administrator such as a nose cannula and EKG system that includes electrodes and wires, comprising a portable housing that includes a storage area for oxygen supply tubes, a second storage area for EKG wires and third storage area for intravenous tubes. The system includes a one or more rigid elongated support members each of which include a plurality of small channels along the top portion, each of which is sized to receive an oxygen tube in one channel, an intravenous tube in another channel and in yet another channel or channels EKG and/or defibrillator wires. The upper exposed channels can be removably covered and the tubes therein secured by a flexible cloth or plastic strip having a surface within a hook/loop fastener that attaches to the top surface of the separating block which allows each individual tube/wire within each individual channel to be secured, keeping each separated from each other. One or more separating blocks can be deployed at an emergency scene to separate tubes, defibrillator wires, and EKG wires at all times so that the tubes and wires do not get tangled. The separating block is light weight and can be placed on the patient""s body.
The operator can then easily distinguish and keep separated the I.V. tube which can be attached to the patient, the oxygen tube and mask or cannula which can also be attached to the face of the patient and one or more of EKG electrodes that can be readily deployed and kept separate from each other through the use of one or more separation blocks.
The tube and wire separation block can be easily adjusted or moved relative to the tubes and wire to different positions relating to each of the tubes and wires by opening or closing the hook/loop fastener top strap or by sliding the separating block longitudinally along the tubes wires to provide additional spacing near the tube and wire ends or between other separation blocks if more than one block is employed.
Each separation block is made of a rigid material such as plastic that can be cleaned with bleach or made as a disposable. Each block can be 4-12 inches long and have series of 4 or more channels or grooves along the top surface. The block channels are parallel to each other at least one-half inch in depth and one inch wide and spaced one or more inches apart. The upper surface of the separation block includes a hook and loop fastener known under the trademark Velcro. Narrow hook/loop fastener strips that correspond to the size of the hook/fastener closure strap are glued on the block top surface which allows each channel to be securely closed so that the tubes and wires cannot be removed from the separating block channels unless the fastening strap is manually removed. The surface of the block can have written indicia in indelible ink to tell of a particular drug being used. The indicia can not be erased.
One or more tube/wire separating blocks can be deployed depending on the number of tubes and EKG electrode wires being used.
A storage housing can be used to store one or more separation blocks in a single box.
It is the object of this invention to provide an improved paramedical equipment organizer for tubes and EKG electrode wires and that keep the tubes and wires separated to allow for easy deployment in a medical emergency scene.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved portable diagnostic and test treatment organizer that includes a plurality of separating blocks that keep O2 tubes, I.V. tubes, defibrillator wires and EKG wires individually separated from each other while attached to emergency medical equipment in a paramedical situation.
In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings.